The Happiest Baby on the Block - The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer (DVD)

Then I searched Amazon one night under "Colic" and found this book and video. Even though we have absolutely no time to read, we did watch the video (while she wailed). My husband tried the swaddling and shhing techniques that night and she quieted down after about 10 minutes. Now 1 week later she calms after 5 min or so AND she is sleeping 4 hours at a time. We feel great and she finally looks peaceful - and not agitated.

Both the book and video are geared toward the first 3 months of life.... and the notion that most babies 1st 3 months of life are really the 4th trimester in their developement. Our first child slept soundly from day one..... but we were blown away with this second one. Thank you Dr. Karp! We finally feel like humans again and the stress level in our home has dropped tremendously.


NEW solutions for crying, difficult babies   July 31, 2004
K. Corn (Indianapolis,, IN United States)
63 out of 66 found this review helpful

Raised 3 kids, thought I knew most of the techniques for ssothing babies, helping them through rough days (colic, teething, fussy times). But this video brings NEW research and tips to make life easier for parents of new babies...and if you're an aunt or grandparent, you'll learn something new too. SOme of the suggestions are simply amazing, making specific sounds gently into the baby's ears and seeing an instant, peaceful transformation.
Many of these suggestions come from looking at life from the baby's perspective and, in retrospect, seem like common sense (but not as easy as it sounds, otherwise there'd be no need for this video). Well worth your viewing time and could bring relief to many an exhausted parent (and baby).


Unbelievable: common sense solutions for crying babies!   September 23, 2003
Manny Hernandez (Palo Alto, CA)
25 out of 26 found this review helpful

Dr. Karp applied common sense to the "problem" of crying babies that most new parents face, by borrowing from traditions being used around the world to calm babies down as if you had "flipped a switch." He acknowledges the existence of a 'fourth trimester', i.e. the first three months of the baby's life and the need to use techniques to make the baby feel as in the mother's womb to calm him/her down, appealing to their calm reflex.

These techniques are summarized as the five S's: Swaddling (very tight, to resemble the tight environment of the uterus), Side or Stomach position (otherwise known as the football hold), Shushing (as loud as the baby cries), Swinging (making the head jiggle slightly, to replicate the mom's movements with the baby in her tummy) and Sucking (with your finger, or a pacifier in place).

As intuitive or odd these techniques may sound to you, you need to view this video: it will probably make the difference for you as it has for so many parents. As I write this, we're in our last couple of weeks of pregnancy, and we're ready to apply them to our upcoming baby boy.


Unbelievable! Common sense comforting for crying babies   September 23, 2003
Manny Hernandez (Palo Alto, CA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Dr. Karp applied common sense to the "problem" of crying babies that most new parents face, by borrowing from traditions being used around the world to calm babies down as if you had "flipped a switch." He acknowledges the existence of a 'fourth trimester', i.e. the first three months of the baby's life and the need to use techniques to make the baby feel as in the mother's womb to calm him/her down, appealing to their calm reflex.

These techniques are summarized as the five S's: Swaddling (very tight, to resemble the tight environment of the uterus), Side or Stomach position (otherwise known as the football hold), Shushing (as loud as the baby cries), Swinging (making the head jiggle slightly, to replicate the mom's movements with the baby in her tummy) and Sucking (with your finger, or a pacifier in place).

As intuitive or odd these techniques may sound to you, you need to view this video: it will probably make the difference for you as it has for so many parents. As I write this, we're in our last couple of weeks of pregnancy, and we're ready to apply them to our upcoming baby boy. For more information, visit his web site, www.thehappiestbaby.com.


People envy our sleep   June 19, 2006
Kawika (San Diego, CA United States)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

We are lucky parents...our baby sleeps pretty long (4 or more hours at a time). All of these techniques work pretty well. A pediatrician recommended the book version of this at the hospital...but once that baby is born, you won't have much time to go through that, and the book has a lot of filler that this DVD doesn't. I checked both the DVD and book out from my local library. While I do not use the same swaddling technique as Dr. Karp, I do use similar blanket swaddling methods and storebought burrito-wrap swaddlers, and they work like a charm. Our baby was born in the UCSD system, so they recommended this, probably b/c they're on the same system as Dr. Karp (UCLA).

To the neg reviewers who say that this stuff is all common sense, I would have to disagree. People marvel at my ability to calm our baby as if it's some voodoo...but it's what I learned from this DVD and a pediatrician at the hospital. The real benefit of DVD over book is that you get a clear picture of what Dr. Karp is talking about and how he calms babies.